Ezekiel 2
[Ezekiel 2:1] AND HE SAID UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, STAND UPON THY FEET, AND I WILL SPEAK UNTO THEE.
"SON OF MAN" in Hebrew "Ben-Adam". The expression "son of" can also denote "belonging to the category of".
The basic instincts of a being include:
1. Survival
2. Procreation
3. Self-expression either at the individual level or as part of the group.
A person tries to reconcile these three basic instincts and fulfill all of
them at once. At all events the third category of self-expression is the
highest and the one we all ultimately yearn after in some way. The Prophet
is a person who has reached the highest plane a human being can strive for.
He has fulfilled the definition of "man" at its highest level. He is a "son
of man".
[Ezekiel 2:2] AND THE SPIRIT ENTERED INTO ME WHEN
HE SPAKE UNTO ME, AND SET ME UPON MY FEET, THAT I HEARD HIM THAT SPAKE UNTO
ME.
He spoke through the spirit but in most such cases he would have had to achieve a high level previously through his own efforts.
[Ezekiel 2:3] AND HE SAID UNTO ME, SON OF MAN,
I SEND THEE TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, TO A REBELLIOUS NATION THAT HATH REBELLED
AGAINST ME: THEY AND THEIR FATHERS HAVE TRANSGRESSED AGAINST ME, EVEN UNTO
THIS VERY DAY.
"CHILDREN OF ISRAEL" in most of the Prophets it is usually clear whether
"Judah" is being addressed or the Ten Tribes of "Israel" or both together.
With Ezekiel this is not so. In some cases Ezekiel uses the expression "Israel"
when he appears to be only addressing Judah."TO A REBELLIOUS NATION" in Hebrew
it says "al Goyim HaMordim" i.e. "to Rebellious Peoples" in the plural. The
People of Israel are referred to as "Rebellious Peoples".
[Ezekiel 2:4] FOR THEY ARE IMPUDENT CHILDREN AND
STIFFHEARTED. I DO SEND THEE UNTO THEM; AND THOU SHALT SAY UNTO THEM, THUS
SAITH THE LORD GOD.
[Ezekiel 2:5] AND THEY, WHETHER THEY WILL HEAR, OR WHETHER THEY WILL FORBEAR,
(FOR THEY ARE A REBELLIOUS HOUSE,) YET SHALL KNOW THAT THERE HATH BEEN A
PROPHET AMONG THEM.
[Ezekiel 2:6] AND THOU, SON OF MAN, BE NOT AFRAID OF THEM, NEITHER BE AFRAID
OF THEIR WORDS, THOUGH BRIERS AND THORNS BE WITH THEE, AND THOU DOST DWELL
AMONG SCORPIONS: BE NOT AFRAID OF THEIR WORDS, NOR BE DISMAYED AT THEIR LOOKS,
THOUGH THEY BE A REBELLIOUS HOUSE.
[Ezekiel 2:7] AND THOU SHALT SPEAK MY WORDS UNTO THEM, WHETHER THEY WILL
HEAR, OR WHETHER THEY WILL FORBEAR: FOR THEY ARE MOST REBELLIOUS.
[Ezekiel 2:8] BUT THOU, SON OF MAN, HEAR WHAT
I SAY UNTO THEE; BE NOT THOU REBELLIOUS LIKE THAT REBELLIOUS HOUSE: OPEN
THY MOUTH, AND EAT THAT I GIVE THEE.
[Ezekiel 2:9] AND WHEN I LOOKED, BEHOLD, AN HAND WAS SENT UNTO ME; AND, LO, A ROLL OF A BOOK WAS THEREIN;
[Ezekiel 2:10] AND HE SPREAD IT BEFORE ME; AND IT WAS WRITTEN WITHIN AND
WITHOUT: AND THERE WAS WRITTEN THEREIN LAMENTATIONS, AND MOURNING, AND WOE.
Ezekiel Index Page
Chapter Three of Ezekiel